The Chelmsford Sunday Soccer Club's Blog

Murphy Field on Sunday at 9:00 AM.

Last week there were four (of 18 players) who showed up without a white shirt and a dark shirt. Why does this matter? It matters so that we can balance the teams and make the game as even as possible. This makes the game consistently more fun for everyone.

Playing in this game on Sundays has a pretty low bar of entry. Not bringing two shirts is sort of failing an open-book test.

If you have a white shirt and a dark shirt, I will see you at Murphy on Sunday.

Lawrence

Because of an event at Harrington, CYSA games have been moved to Murphy. We DO NOT have the use of Murphy Field this Sunday. Don’t go there.

We are going to try to play at Graniteville. This will be with the pop-up goals and the cones if we can find a big enough piece of grass to set-up on. We’ve done this before. It works.

Graniteville is the open field across from the McCarthy turf field. Our best chance of getting part of it to use is to be there on the early side. I am suggesting that we play at 8:30 AM this Sunday. Can you commit to that?

If we can’t get a place to play, then we may have to bag it. But I think that we’ll probably be okay.

Remember, do not go to Murphy Field this Sunday.

Lawrence

I may be the only one who has been disappointed that we did not get to play the last few Sundays. But I suspect that I am not alone.

Grey shirts – Bad

Starting right on time – Good

Dark shirt and white shirt – Also Good

Leaving the game early – Also Bad

To summarize: soccer is fun. We’re playing at Murphy this Sunday. We want to kick-off no later than 9:00 AM. See you there.

Lawrence

In college I knew a couple of guys who majored in Meteorology. If I the ad known that I would one day spend a great deal of every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday trying to get an accurate picture of the weather for Sunday mornings, then I would have considered changing majors to join them.

Most days I am pretty casual about the weather. I look out our kitchen windows because they face west. I look at the weather app on my phone for the basics. But for Sunday mornings, I need details. Of course, predicting the weather in New England is dicey. I think that it is going to be raining Sunday morning (again). If it is more than a light drizzle, I will not be at the field to play.

If it is not raining, we will kick off at 9:00 AM at Murphy Field. I hope that it is dry enough that we can play and I can say how much I have missed playing on Sundays, how I am still amazed that some of you can’t do a proper throw-in, that it is just not that difficult to pack a colored shirt and a white shirt, that some of you still don’t get that grey is neither light nor dark, and all the other fun stuff.

Lawrence

After five months away, you would think that I would have a lot to say. Well, not really.

This Sunday we are resuming playing outdoors. Please arrive at Murphy Field by 8:40 for a 9:00 AM kick-off. At this point, the weather looks good for Sunday. However, we never play in the rain as we must protect the fields. So, if the weather turns, look for a posted update. Or…if it is raining, don’t go to soccer. Otherwise try hard to be on time for us to start on time.

Quick recap of our guidelines. You have to be high school age or older to play with us as this is a game for adults who just want to have fun. Despite what you have read in this blog, none of us has gotten a call up from the national team (yet).

This is a game where nobody coaches or tells people what to do or where to play (that includes your own children). Although it is good to take a turn playing back to let others have a chance to play up if they want to.

Bring a white shirt and a dark shirt. Do not bring a grey shirt or a “where’s Waldo” shirt. What’s a Where’s Waldo shirt? It is a shirt that nobody can tell which color it is. If you wear grey or a Where’s Waldo shirt, you are the goal keeper all game.

We balance the teams to make them as even as possible. If you are asked to switch teams, you are expected to do so. We take turns playing goalkeeper (unless you wear the wrong shirt).

No slide tackling, keep your elbows down, and keep the trash talk friendly. You have to have respect for the game and for the other players. If not, you’ll be asked to leave.

We figure out how to get everyone playing. Nobody sits. If 24 people show up, we play 12 v 12 or two games of 6 v 6. Everyone is there to play and have fun.

Looking forward to seeing you at Sunday at Murphy.

Lawrence

This Sunday is the end of November and the last game of the year for our group. Sad. But the weather looks good. I hope that we have a very good turnout at Murphy Field for an 8:30 kick-off.

We will post to the blog again in March to let everyone know when and where we are resuming in 2023. If you subscribe to the blog, you can get the posts straight to your E-Mail (file under “shirt color”).

I have been watching the World Cup — as I am sure many of you have. I have a lot of games recorded which I intend to watch over the next few weeks. Fun and surprising. For example, in the US-England game, there were 963 completed passes. Wow. I am sure that some of you are asking how do I know that and some of you are asking “what is a pass?”.

Bring a white shirt. Bring a dark shirt. Do not bring a grey shirt unless you are only playing keeper.

Lawrence

Unless it is raining or snowing, there will be a game this Sunday at Murphy Field. This is the time of year when the weather can be a challenge. Everyone has to know what their own comfort level is. How cool out is the point where you do not want to play? That is an individual thing. Some people will not want to play when it is cold.

But…it is supposed to snow over five feet in Buffalo this weekend. So, I guess our weather is better than that. Although I think those big snowstorms are fun.

Some people have asked me if it is going to be cold this weekend. Well, kind of. But this happens to us every year — right about this time. You see:

“During the fall and winter, the sun’s rays hit the Earth at a shallow angle. These rays are more spread out, which minimizes the amount of energy that hits any given spot. The longer nights and shorter days prevent the Earth from warming up. Thus, we have cooler weather. “

https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/meteorology-climatology/item/why-is-it-hot-in-summer-and-cold-in-winter/#:~:text=During%20the%20winter%2C%20the%20sun’s,Thus%2C%20we%20have%20winter!

Next Sunday will be our last game at Murphy in 2022.

Lawrence

This hasn’t happened in a long time, but we should cancel our pickup game today. CYSA is kind enough to let us play on their field and in return we promise not to destroy it. With the rain the last few days and the fact that it is still raining, we should keep off it today. So, lets take today off and plan on getting together next week. Have a great week and stay dry!

We are playing at Murphy through the end of November. After November, we take a break and will return to playing outdoors in the spring.

Get those games in while you can. Sundays at 8:30 AM.

There are some winter soccer-related activities that you can do after November. You can watch soccer on TV. You can wear soccer shirts. You can watch videos on YouTube on how to do a legal throw-in. There are a plethora of soccer-related activities.

Lawrence

Hi,

The Co-Ed soccer team that I play on needs more women on the roster. We play Sunday nights in Acton at Acton Teamworks. The first game of the current session is this Sunday night. Knowing American Sign Language is useful, but not a prerequisite.

Please E-Mail me at 1l0j7m@gmail.com or catch-up with me at the field on Sunday morning if you are interested.

Thanks,

Lawrence